New Trial for Woman Convicted In Plot Against Daughter's Rival

By MAUREEN BALLEZA,

Published: November 9, 1991

HOUSTON, Nov. 8—
Wanda Webb Holloway, the Channelview, Tex., woman convicted of trying to hire a killer to improve her daughter's chances to become a junior high school cheerleader, was granted a new trial today.

Judge George Godwin of State District Court ordered the new trial after brief arguments and the presentation of new evidence. Some of that evidence became known shortly after Mrs. Holloway's conviction on Sept. 3, when defense lawyers found that one of the jurors should have been disqualifed for jury duty because he was on probation for a drug offense.

The defense also presented an affidavit from a new witness, Calvin Stout, in which he says the state's star witness, Terry Harper, told him he was "running a scam" on Mrs. Holloway to get money to buy cocaine from Mr. Stout. Mr. Harper, Mrs. Holloway's former brother-in-law, had testified that she talked to him about hiring someone to kill Verna Heath, whose daughter Amber was the chief cheerleading rival of Mrs. Holloway's daughter.

No date has been set for the new trial. If convicted again, Mrs. Holloway faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Accused in Bizarre Plot

Mrs. Holloway was convicted on charges of plotting to solicit murder after a trial that received widespread attention. She was portrayed as a mother whose ambitions for her daughter, Shanna, degenerated into a bizarre plot to murder Mrs. Heath. The prosecution said the plot was an attempt to disturb Amber Heath to the point of withdrawal from the cheerleading competition, insuring a place for Shanna on the cheerleading squad.

Jurors listened to secret tape-recorded conversations between Mrs. Holloway and Mr. Harper in which they discussed various ways to make either Mrs. Heath or her daughter "disappear" or suffer serious injury.

Prices and places were also discussed, and Mrs. Holloway gave Mr. Harper a pair of diamond earrings as a down payment

The defense portrayed the events as an attempt by Mr. Harper, who has a criminal record, to return to the good graces of his family and help his brother get custody of Shanna and her brother, Shane.

After Mrs. Holloway was convicted she was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Jurors cited the tapes, specifically Mrs. Holloway's comment that she would like to see Mrs. Heath disappear for 15 years, as one of the factors in the sentence that was assessed. Coincidentally, 15 years is the cutoff for an appeal bond. Mrs. Holloway has been out of jail on a $75,000 bond, pending her appeal.

The juror who should have been disqualified, Daniel Enriquez, truthfully answered pretrial questions that he had been involved in a criminal case. When two judges asked the jurors again, Mr. Enriquez kept silent because he had served on another jury six months earlier. At that time he approached the judge, explained his situation and was told that his probationary status was not a problem.

The prosecutor in the case, Mike Anderson, said og today's decision: "I was disappointed but not surprised. It's one of those bizarre situations that just happens."

Mr. Anderson said he was "confident the evidence is as strong, or stronger, than it was in the first trial."

Photo: Wanda Webb Holloway, who was convicted of trying to hire a killer to help her daughter's chances to become a cheerleader, has been granted a new trial. (Associated Press)